Turns out it’s actually not that easy to hijack an election with memes.
Last week, far-right German YouTuber Nikolai Alexander, who makes videos under the name Reconquista Germanica, invited his 33,000 subscribers to a newly launched Discord server.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
BuzzFeed News entered the room under a pseudonym on Sunday night as members of the chatroom attempted to flood Twitter with far-right memes and posts against Martin Schulz’s Social Democratic Party and Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, who were debating on TV at the time.
This strategy of moving users from 4chan to YouTube to more private online spaces like Discord isn't new. French trolls organized several aggressive disruption campaigns on Discord servers in the lead-up to their election. And Discord servers played a key role in the organization of the protests in Charlottesville last month.
Alexander hoped to use Discord in a similar way to drum up last-minute support for Germany's right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). AfD has been sliding in the polls and is currently tied for fifth place with the Green party.
Alexander says in his 17-minute video that he wants all his supporters to join the Reconquista Germanica Discord server because it makes it easier to coordinate online attacks.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
"The first campaign starts on Sept. 1 and ends on Sept. 24 with the Bundestag election," Alexander says in the video. "The aim of the first campaign is to hoist the AfD as much as possible into the Bundestag. Today we will also start the meme war in the Bundestag against the race of mutts." After the Bundestag election, he says he wants to try to use the Discord room "to go after failed conservatives like [Markus] Pretzell and other hypocrites and strengthen the Höcke wing."
Screenshot BuzzFeed News
Moderators of the server regularly make it clear to new users that the server's main goal is to support AfD.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Screenshot BuzzFeed News
According to the organizers, around 1,500 members gathered there over the weekend.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Many channels carry military names such as "General Staff", "High Command," or "Officers' Mess."
Screenshot BuzzFeed News